Residential grade routers have consistently proven to only have short term support leading to ongoing security exploits or sometimes bugs never being patched. I try and push some business class solution but all the current equipment I know about require the separate router and access point which is somewhat expensive but also not easy for people to setup. What would you recommend for an all in one that will actually receive updates for a decent time period? Or is there no company willing to support products that sell for less than $200?
Although I haven’t used it in a long time, I think OpenWRT would be a great fit because then it’s not anymore up the manufacturer to supply updates.
For example, the LinkSys WRT1900 which features 802.11ac, 4x4 MIMO and a USB 3 port launched in 2014 (there are some revisions available) and still gets the latest firmware from OpenWRT. Granted, given that this device has been out there for some years now, I don’t know for how long it will receive updates going forward. One of its older brothers, the WRT54G stopped receiving updates after a couple of years due to the newer versions of OpenWRT having higher memory demands. It’s hard to tell for me whether that will be an issue in, say, 5 years with the WRT1900.
@centaur5
paolo’s suggestion is very reasonable OpenWRT works and is probably the least costly. You could hunt down a low wattage older PC and get a WiFi card with antenna that is mountable away from the box and install pf-Sense. Yes, a little more time and money but will not become obsolete in four to five years software updates and upgrades will be easy. It’s a choice between short term or long term. Consumer grade stuff is planed to be superseded by _____ fill in the blank just like the I-Phone hype, just enough to meet today’s expectations.
Thanks for the input I’ve used OpenWRT in the past but it was rare to find compatible models. I haven’t researched how well it holds up in security with never being updated. Most of the models I flashed didn’t ever get new versions.
Pfsense (netgate) / Ubiquiti (EdgeRouterX / LITE ). What are your abilities when it comes to setting stuff like this up? What business solutions are you “push” ?
The cheapest netgate is $180 and doesn’t have wifi. Ubiquiti only has their airmesh product that is easy for home users but I hate that it doesn’t have a web UI and forces a mobile device to manage it. Unless somebody knows of an inexpensive, small form factor device to do pfsense with wifi?
maybe ubiquiti’s amplifi line is more what your looking for then (95% sure it has a web interface now). I would personally just do an edgerouterx with an APAC LR for a family home, for a total of about $160. Pfsense SG1100 is 159 plus an access point so looking more like $260.
I have used the amplifi hd and it works but definitely doesn’t get the range they claim…at least in the houses in NY. They have amplifi instant or gaming editions or the HD. Its a mesh system.
OpenWRT worked ok for me - however I didn’t find it to be a robust solution in the long term. After a few years the hardware became old and I had more times with the updates – I was using the Linksys WRT54G at the time. I also didn’t find the range of this router all that great.
Anyway – I was using a series of Time Capsules as my router/AC point prior to making a pfsense install. I just turned these routers into simple access points by turning off the dhcp function. I’m only mentioning this since I not sure if you have an old wireless router, but I think its pretty simple to turn any wireless router into an access point – this saves a lot of money.
In terms of router I’d look at some type of Pfsense of EdgeRouterX. These may be above your budget, however I think they both have a better chance of future proof. I guess it just depends what features you need in your router – you’ll of course have to pair this with an access point I believe. If using pfSense — this is based off a freebsd kernel and wireless drivers for FreeBSD are atrocious – so I wouldn’t depend on the router for the wireless interface.
I decided I’ll find a router compatible with DD-WRT for an over the counter solution. As stated above I do prefer doing pfsense or ubiquiti with an extra ap but sometimes home users won’t go for 2 separate devices especially since the cost is high. In my past experience DD-WRT doesn’t usually have ongoing releases for a supported model so it’s usually a flash once and leave it kind of ordeal rather than consistent updates to manage. Not thrilled about that but if the platform is secure enough it doesn’t really need updates then it’s better than the manufacturer software in my opinion.
what about issues that aren’t known to the manufacturer…aka zero day…??? residential i suppose this is okay.